Greetings! Dictionary alert: In a NY Times column this week, conservative pundit Bret Stephens used these insulting adjectives to describe Pete Hegseth: oleaginous (having oily properties), turgescent (becoming inflated), insufferable (not to be endured), and bombastic (speech or writing marked by exaggeration). His fellow columnist Frank Bruni called Hegseth unctuous (smug). All descriptions are on-the-nose perfect. Thank you Merriam-Webster and Stephens/Bruni. Worth noting: I still refer to the SecDef as “Hairgel” Hegseth although I’m considering renaming him Mr. T after his testosterone edict earlier this month... Clever right-wing headline of the week, courtesy of the Washington Examiner: “The Hanging of an Iranian Activist Exposes a Regime at the End of Its Rope”... Required Reading: Vanity Fair’s Graham Platner and the Undoing of the Consultant Class, by Maria Comella, former key staff member to Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie.  Key line: “There is a wayward consultant class that will back anyone to win because winning achieves personal ambitions for power and money”...Weekend Watch: The best drama of the weekend just might be tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which raises money to support First Amendment scholarships. It is also raising eyebrows about how Trump can be spotlighted and applauded in a room full of journalists he despises.  Trump's speech tonight is expected to lash out against the press. But will the journalists in the room push back against the Trump’s remarks? Will they applaud?  Boo? Walk out? The festivities begin at 8 p.m. EDT and can be seen live on C-SPAN (and its website) and streamed on USA Today’s YouTube Channel.  The event was rescheduled after a gunman stormed the dinner in April before Trump had a chance to speak...If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard